Fighting Fracking: A Toolkit for Activists

Across the country, fracking is endangering our health, contaminating our drinking water, and worsening the climate crisis. From the chemicals used to the toxic wastewater produced to the methane emitted, every aspect of the fracking process is putting our families and our communities at risk.

With over 1,000 documented cases of water contamination linked to fracking, 679,000 acres of land destroyed since 2005, and 5.3 billion pounds of methane emitted in a single year, it’s no surprise that over 500 communities have taken action to stop fracking and a majority of Americans now oppose dirty drilling.

Unfortunately, the oil and gas industry is fighting back. Already, they have sued in places like Colorado, Texas, and Ohio to overturn local bans and in places like North Carolina and Florida have lobbied state legislatures to prevent communities from enacting future fracking bans and regulations. What’s worse is that fracking operations remain exempt from the very laws designed to protect our environment and public health, such as the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and hazardous waste requirements.

Now more than ever we need to be equipped to fight fracking. By educating people about fracking’s harms, mobilizing our neighbors to take action, and holding industry accountable for their harms, we can continue winning victories against frackers to protect our climate and health.

This toolkit provides the resources you need to fight fracking in your own community.

Environment America Research and Policy Center is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to getting things done.